Windows 7 Programs Gone

[jameshin84]

Hi there,
I apologize if this issue has been discussed earlier, but I haven't found it.
When I upgraded my OS from Windows 7 to Windows 8, it appears that all of my Windows 7 programs are somehow gone. I've tried searching through the app options in windows 8, but I cannot find out how to get these programs to show.
I know that I haven't wiped the hard drive, as there is the same amount of space left. I can go to all the install options for each one and reinstall them, but I feel like this would be silly as I would then be taking up extra hard drive space. I'd really prefer not to have to wipe the disk clean and start from scratch.
I would appreciate any help.

 

[arnoldh]

My experience may be similar. I have a Windows 7 system on disk 0. I wanted to try Windows 8 on disk 1. I installed an old XP on disk 1, and used the Win 8 Pro upgrade to put Windows 8 on disk 1. Windows 8 booted OK after installation. I then changed the BIOS to boot disk 0 and run my Windows 7 system. Windows 8 comes up. Whichever disk is set as the boot disk in the BIOS, Windows 8 boots. So I can no longer access my Windows 7 system. But all the files are there. I think the Windows 8 installation changed the boot file on Disk 0 to point to boot disk 1. WHY?

What I did was booted my Windows 7 installation DVD, filled in the first screen with keyboard options etc, then selected repair. The Windows 7 system showed up as having a startup problem, I asked Repair to fix it, and then Windows 7 booted successfully when the BIOS was set to boot disk 0.

 

[Brink]

Hello James, and welcome to Eight Forums.

Double check to see if you have a shortcut for the program on your "Start" screen, and check in your C:\Program Files folder to see if the .exe file for the programs are there in the program's folder.

If so, then you could pin the the .exe to the Start screen and/or taskbar.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2352-start-screen-pin-unpin-app-folder-drive-windows-8-a.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[jameshin84]

Hi there Brink and Arnhold,
Thanks for your respective replies.
Arnhold, I understand what you are saying, however, when I upgraded my OS, I was kind of expecting that I would be able to access all my Win7 programs in Win8. I can go back to Win7 if need be, but want to try and solve this first.
Brink,
I've checked the apps and start screen, but the Win7 programs are all gone (as in all my personal ones).
Here is an example:
iTunes (latest version) for Win7
Now I'm in Win8, I can't find it in the apps list.
So I go into C and navigate to the Programs File list. It's not there. Try the x86 one. Not there.
Go to Windows Old files. There's an iTunes folder there, but it's pretty much empty. It's got a few random bits and pieces, but hardly anything else. Most importantly, no .exe file
I thought it might be an iTunes thing, but my Microsoft Office 2010 has also disappeared. No matter where I search for it, it's all gone.
There's some other issues - I cannot find Multisim (a circuit simulation program).
As I've gone through things, I've discovered that certain programs work - for instance Eclipse for Python. But I had installed this outside of the Program Files folder.
So I'm left wondering where all the information has gone
I hope that all makes sense, and that there is a simple explanation - like I'm somehow masking the .exe files or something. Who really knows
James

 

[Brink]

Normally when upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8, your programs are carried over into Windows 8 unless it thinks a program is not compatible with Windows 8, or some other issue with the program.

It appears that you will need to reinstall any missing programs. If the program doesn't run properly in Windows 8, then you might try running the program in compatibility mode.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/6832-compatibility-mode-use-windows-8-a.html